Terry Butcher knows Aberdeen have everything his Inverness team don't have...except from more points

INVERNESS CALEY might not have the history, money or supporters of Aberdeen but they are ahead of the Dons in the league table and Terry Butcher wants to open up a bigger gap on them as both sides go head to head.

But he warned the Dons his Highland battlers are more than a match for their northern rivals on the pitch.

The Caley Jags are three points ahead of Craig Brown’s men in the race for second place in the SPL and Butcher wants an even bigger gap after the side’s clash in Inverness today.

He said: “We have no history, no budget and not many supporters – which is pretty much the opposite of Aberdeen. They have the history, the big budget and lots of supporters.

“But that is what we are and we get on with it. We enjoy the challenge and if we get under people’s skins then so be it. It’s our aim to continue to do that.

“We have a pretty good recent record against Aberdeen and we enjoy playing them. In the two games against them this season we have taken four points but they could have gone either way.

“It is always a hard-fought game, they bring a tremendous crowd, so it is always a good atmosphere.”

It’s not just Aberdeen Butcher loves to rile up though. He said: “I love to bloody the noses of everyone in the SPL. I take great pleasure in that as people expect to beat us, thinking we are a little pub team from the Highlands.

“We have proved we are not and Ross County are doing the same. We certainly fight for the right to play and survive first of all in the SPL then get as high as we can.

“People in the past might have underestimated us but I don’t think they do that now. We have played some good football and scored some great goals.”

Midfield enforcer David Raven knows the Caley Jags now have a bullseye on their backs after their stunning first half of the season but is determined they won’t undo all the good work.

He said: “Maybe it will be harder in the second part of the season as teams will not be surprised by us. They know our players but we know theirs as well – it works both ways. We are becoming a bit of a scalp as we are up there in the table.

“It will be tough but that is when everyone needs to get involved, it is all hands to the pump.

“A lot of teams will try to stifle our play and try to stop us playing. Teams are happy to come up here and get a draw which is really just a feather in our cap.

“We don’t mind that, we would rather have it that way than the opposite, it is good for us.

“The first half of the season brought far more than we ever expected from the start. There is no point coming this far and throwing it all away.

“There is no pressure on us, no expectation like there is at other clubs.

“It would be great to get to the end of the season and think we were not just a one-off. We would love to finish it off properly.”